Harry Potter: The Exhibition

J.K. Rowling’s magical Harry Potter books
and the movies that followed captured my imagination. And
so, when I heard that some of the actual
props and wardrobe from the Harry Potter movies were on tour, I
decided to pay them a visit with the person who encouraged
me to pick up my first Harry Potter book, my mom.

Harry Potter: The Exhibition set up its New York residence
at Discovery Times Square, former home of The New York Times
printing presses. We knew we'd arrived when we saw a huge
sign with a familiar light-blue Ford Anglia poking out. We picked up our tickets at the box office
and joined a group of about fifteen people waiting to enter
the exhibit.

The exhibition staff reminded us that absolutely no
photography was allowed inside the exhibition, then we were
led into a small anteroom where a man wearing wizard robes
welcomed us and asked for volunteers to be sorted into
the houses at Hogwarts. A few people raised their hands. I was
one of them.

The man directed me to sit on a tall stool facing the
audience. He asked me which house I was hoping for (I said,
"Griffindor!"), then he placed an authentic Sorting Hat over my head.
The hat discussed my qualities, and then announced that, sure enough, I belonged in Griffindor.
Two other volunteers were selected to be sorted as well.
Each was sorted into Griffindor, just as they'd
hoped.

After the sorting, large doors opened and we entered a room
with movie screens that showed clips from the Harry Potter
movies. Then, suddenly, another door opened and fog poured out. A man
appeared from the mist and welcomed us to Hogwarts. He
led us past the engine car of Hogwarts Express and into the
exhibit.

Harry Potter: The Exhibition wasn't your typical quiet, dull
museum exhibit. Lighting effects and John Williams'
brilliant music helped set the tone for different areas
showcasing props, set pieces, and wardrobe. Most of the
smaller props were in glass cases, but the cases were placed
so that we were able to get a look at the items from just
inches away and from many different angles.

Most of the costumes and set pieces were separated from us
by just a railing and many were so close that I could have
touched them if it weren't for the strict "no touching" rule.

I was mesmerized by Hermione's time-turner. The
level of detail, from the writing on the rings to the tiny
punched out stars surrounding the hourglass was impressive.
I wanted one of my own!

I stopped to read the detailed, and often humorous, notices on the Griffindor common room
bulletin board and the cover of an issue of The Quibbler.
The subscription form for The Quibbler offered an unusually
brief choice for
subscription length: 1 week. Later, I was amused to see that
the writing on the chocolate frog boxes declared that the
frogs
were "70% Croakoa."

Before entering the exhibit, we purchased audio
tours and were given a lightweight baton-like device to
hang around our necks. Whenever we saw numbers located on
cards throughout the exhibit, we dialed them into the
device, and then held the speaker
to our ear like a telephone to hear brief comments
from people who worked on the movie. For
example, it was explained that rubberized crystal balls were
created for scenes where a crystal ball rolls down the
stairs, but that the special balls created a problem because
they would bounce like kids' rubber balls.

Like most of the children visiting the exhibition (and many
of the adults as well), I tried out the three interactive
areas. First, I pulled a squealing
mandrake from a pot.
Next, I slid into Hagrid's chair and felt dwarfed in size,
although not nearly as small as I felt when I stared at the Hagrid
clothes that were worn by actor Robbie Coltrane's
super-sized body-double.

Finally, I tossed Quidditch balls through hoops. (I would have liked to
have done that while sitting on a broomstick!)

The wands on exhibit looked, to my eye, exactly like the
ones I'd seen for sale in the shops at
The Wizarding World
of Harry Potter in Orlando (and the ones I later saw in the
exhibition's gift shop), minus the copyright stamp. It was
especially
fun to see wands that aren't sold in stores, like Ron's
broken wand that had been taped back together and
Professor Slughorn's wand, which bore a striking resemblance
to a slug.

I knew that I would enjoy getting a close-up look at actual Hogwart's robes, and I did, but my favorite costume was
flying instructor Madame Hooch's purple robes with velvet
accents. I also liked Professor
Sprout's robes, which had velvet "leaves" sprouting from the collar.

Standing close to the actual Harry Potter movie costumes,
props, and set pieces at the exhibition, I found myself happily imagining what it
might have felt like to be an actor in the Harry Potter
movies.
It must have been incredible to don the detailed costumes, hold
the intricate props, and interact with the lifelike
creatures.

Seeing my own reflection
in Professor Lupin's towering boggart wardrobe (with what
sounded like a frightening boggart inside), looking into the
crazy eyes of the giant jack-in-the-box, standing humbly
before a vocalizing hippogriff who looked like he might bow
at any second, imagining myself climbing onto Harry's
broomstick, staring into the open mouth of a Hungarian
Horntail dragon, and looking into the eyes of an acromantula
were experiences I will never forget.

I did this in 2011 in New York City, New York, USA.

Jen (California, USA)*

* As a member of the press,
Jen received two complimentary tickets to Harry Potter: The
Exhibition.